Alleged Thief of $2,400 Sunglasses Leaves Photo ID at Mag Mile Store

By DNAinfo Staff on February 22, 2013 3:24pm | Updated on February 22, 2013 3:40pm

RIVER NORTH — A pair of thieves who allegedly hit a Mag Mile glasses shop this week may have helped police create their wanted poster.

After one man walked out of Optica Thursday with a pair of $2,400 sunglasses, his accomplice ran, dropping a photo ID, said assistant manager George Leyva.

The two men, who looked to be either in their late teens or early 20s, came into the store together just after 5 p.m., Leyva said.

One of the men asked to look at a pair of $2,400 Cartier sunglasses at the upscale store, located at 520 N. Michigan Ave., which also sells Gucci and Prada frames.

Then, while the other young man distracted Leyva, the first one walked out with the pricey eyewear.

Leyva, 36, sprang into action. Expensive frames have gone missing at the shop before, but this time, Leyva noticed and grabbed the second young man by his shoulders.

"I told the other guy that was in the store he wasn’t leaving: 'You're staying in here.' I didn't want to let him go," Leyva said. "I reacted and tried to hold him, and didn’t think that he might have had a weapon or anything like that. Thank God he didn’t."

The young man protested he wasn't with the alleged thief, and struggled against Leyva's grip, wriggling out of his jacket, Leyva said.

"I had him by his shoulders, and he wiggled out," he said. "It was a bulky jacket so I thought I had a good grip on him, but no."

As the young man slipped out of the coat and ran, he dropped an ID and about 20 fake credit cards, Leyva said.

"When he wiggled out of his jacket, I guess his ID was in another sweater underneath, and that’s when that fell out," Leyva said.

Left holding the jacket, Leyva dashed to grab the man's ID, and credit cards off the floor. He then turned them, and the jacket, over to police. Leyva said the man's driver's license had a Michigan address.